Piston and packing



July 7, 1925.

J. A. OLSON PISTON AND PACKING Filed Feb. 4, 1922 INVEN TOR. Q. m

A TTORN E Y Patented July 7 1925.

. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;v

JOHN A. oLsoN, or CLEVELAND, OHIO, AISSIGNOR. TO THE 's-r MANUFACTURING COMPANY, or CLEVELAND,'OHIO, A CORPORATION or 01110.

rrs'ron AND PACKING.

To whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN A. OLSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, Ohio, county of Cuyahoga and State, of Ohio, whose post ofiioe address is 872 East 72nd Street, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pistons and Packings, of which the follow vises. Myinvention. also" relates tomeans.

for preventing leakage between the piston and the-cylinder of a fluid pressure oper ated device.

Among the objects of myinventionare the following:

To provide a new and improved form of operating device for operating chucks and machine vises and the like, or any other mechanism ordinarily operated by a device of the character herein described;

To provide a new form of piston for said p region between the. springs. Another obso jection tov this arrangement, is that the device To provide a new form of packing for said device;

To provide an endless self-sustaining ring having automatic fluid sealing engagement with the wallsof an annular groove and being freely movable therein;v

To provide novel'means for holding the packing in position; 4

To provide an arrangement for holding the packing in its seat in place on the piston securely;

To provide means whereby the packingmay be pressed againstthe cylinder by the cylinder pressure;

To provide in a ing is held in place by the cylinder pressure,

,a single packing ring; 7

To provide other details of. improvement tending to improve the efficiency and service- -ahility of devices of the above character.

To accomplish the foregoing and other useful ends, my invention comprises means hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed.

Referring to the accompanying sheet of drawings 1 Fig. 1 is .a sectional view of my improved device shown attached to a-spindle.

device where the pack-..

Fig. 2 is tin enlarged detail of the same device, showing the seat for the packing, and a passage through which pressure is applied to the rear of the packing. This section corresponds to the, section of the piston shown in the lower part of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3' is an enlarged detail showing the valve interposedlbetween' the passageway shown in 2, and the rear of the packing.

Heretofo-re, pneumatically operated pisthe cylinders to avoid leakage as much as possible. There. were several objections to this construction, among-these objections are the uneven distribution of the pressure from the rear, which pressure would be reater in one region, to wit the region immediately above the spring, than in the pressure that maintains the packing against the cylinder, is constant, whereas in my invention, the pressure behind the packing increases with the cylinder pressure, and, furthermore, is uniformly distributed throughout the Whole rear section of the packing. a

In operating devices of the character herein contemplated, the cylinder pressure used is quite-high, and is subject to variation,-and heretofore-it has been diflicult to hold the-air and prevent leakage. It will be understood that the maintenance of the cylinder pressure is very important, inasmuch as this operating device, while designed for use in connection ,witl any suitable instrumentality, is particularly 7 adapted for use inconnection with-chucks and Vises, of the kind wherein the grip o the chuck or vise,;'is"dependent upon the maintenance of the cylinder pressure. Furthermore, the question of economy is involved to the extent, that it is more economical to operate devices of this character which do not leak, than those in which it is difficult to maintain the requisite cylinder pressure. One, of the objects-0f this thepac ing in a radial, 7

ESSUE Application filed February 4, 1922. Serial No. 534,].0'0. H

invention is to provide means for insuring against the loss of cylinder pressure due to leakage.

Referring more in detail to the drawings. My operating device comprises a cylinder, 2, within which a disc like member or, piston, 3, is designed tooperate in a reciprocal manner. This piston is provided with a peripheral groove, 4, more clearly shown in Fig.2. The sides, 5, of the groove, may, if desired, be'constructed parallel as shown, a portion of the way down, and then the cavity is broadened near the foot of the roove and the annular recesses 6 may be ormed along the side walls 5 and in the bottom wall 7. Preferably the walls 5 diverge as indicated in .the drawings.

Within the groove 4 is positioned a packing 8 comprising two parts, one consisting of an endless, elastic, resilient ring 9 preferably composed of rubber and wear resist-- ing rin 10 preferably composed of asbestos or simi ar material seating on the outer surface ofthe resilient ring. Both of these members are freely movable in the groove 4. The ring 9 is preferably made from a flat sheet of rubber by forming it into a circle of desired size and securing the ends together. Then the sides are folded in so that the ring is substantially horse shoe shaped in cross section and is inserted into the groove 4. The sides press outwardly against and conform to the configuration of the sides of the groove while the part of the ring intermediate the side edges retains its transverse curvature. Ring 9 is preferably.

of such size that the side edges normally seat tightly against the bottom wall and fill recesses 6. After ring 9 is in place in groove 4, member 10-is placed in the groove in contact with ring 9. If it is not an endless member its ends usually overlap as is customary with piston rings for internal combustlon engine pistons. When a piston thus equipped with members 9 and 10 is inserted in a cylinder as cylinder 2, member 10 is forced down into the groove 4 against ring 9 and flattens out the curved transverse wall portion thereof into substantially the form shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing, and forces the edges'ofring 9 more firmly into recesses 6. It will be seen, by referring to Fig. 1,,that between the channel, 4, and the front and rear faces of the piston, I provide ducts through which the cylinder pressure is conveyed to the rear of the transverse wall of the ring. One of these duets, 11, the one that opens on the right-hand surface of the piston, is shown enlarged in Fig. 2. It is also shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

When fluid under pressure is admitted into the groove 4 through ducts 11 or 12 it at once presses against the inside of ring v9, forcing the sides tightly against and into fluid sealing contact with the walls of groove 4. lt is essential that no fluid be permitted to get in between the ring 9 and the walls of groove 4 at this stage of the in-. flation for otherwise the sides of the ring will not engage with the walls of groove 4 closely enough to retain the fluid pressure in the groove, and one means of insuring this isthe recesses 6 in which the edges of ring 9 normally seat in fluid sealing contact. As the pressure is increased the transverse flattened wall of ring 9 is restored to its originally curved form with coincident outward movement of member 10. When the ring 9 has reached its original size and shape further admission of fluid under pressure causes movement of the ring bodily outwardly in the groove as faras the member 10 permits. After member 10 becomes worn the ring 9 may travel as much as an eighth of an inch or more in the groove. When the pressure is released, ring 9 returns to its normal position in groove 4 with the side edges seating in recesses 6. y

It will thus be seen that I'have provided a resilient member which sustains itself in contact with the walls of a groove, which is freely movable within the groove to com-- pensate for wear on a packing m'ember and which operates automatically in COHJHIIC- tion with the walls of the groove to retain ciated therewlth.

Referring to Fig. 2, a will beseen that the cylinder pressure to the right of the piston, 3, passes in through the duct, 11, to

the channel, 4. In the uper partof Fig. 1, I

show the other duct, 12, that extends from the left-hand surface of the piston to the groove, 4. Although I have shown only one groove connectin from each surface of the piston to the pacliing groove, it will be un-' derstood that I may provide more than one on each side. I providein connection with these ducts, suitable valves, 13. valves may be-made of an elastic strip, 14, which .extendsover-the mouth of the duct, the ends of which are securedin place by suitable screws, 15, as shown. The inner terminal of the duct serves as a seat for the valve member, 16, which valve member is suitably secured to the strip, 13. It will be seen therefore, that the medium that produces the cylinder pressure, passes in through the duct, 11, raises the member, 16, stretching the strip, 13, and passing into the slot, 4, intermediate the sides of and in the rear of the transverse wall of the ring 8. It will be understood that at the mouth of the duct, 12, there is a similar Valve, 'there-' fore, the cylinder pressure inflates the pack:

These 7 to the shaft, 17. This shaft is provided with rig. t--hand of the piston. ;When the piston is to be reversed, the cylinder pressure to the right of the piston, of course, disappears, nevertheless the valves maintain the pressure behind the packingf and when the cylinder pressure is applied at the left of the piston, this pressure is also communicated by way of the duct, 12, to the rear of the packing in the event of any leakage by way of the duct, 11.

It will be seen that the piston is secured the bearings-in the right-hand head of the cylinder, and also with the bearings in the led-hand head of the cylinder. Around the right-hand bearings, I provide a suitable gland having packing, 18. Likewise about the left-hand bearings, I also .provide a gland having packing, 19. It will be seen that the left section of the shaft, 19, reciprocateswithin an auxiliary bearing member, 20.- This, member, 20, is provided with a duct, 21, that terminates in an' orifice, 22. Arranged over this orifice, I provide a ring, 23, having a circumferential groove, 24, located in, juxtaposition to the orifice, 22. This ring is'provided with; an outlet in minal, 25, having a duct, 26, connectingwith the groove, 24. With this arrangement, therefore, it will be seen that pneumatic pressure may be applied at the terminal of the duct, 26, which pressure will be transmitted by way of the duct, 21, to the cavity,

'27, in the bearing member, 20, and thence through the duct, 28,' 'in the shaft, 17 to the front part of the piston by way of the orifice, 29. By a similararran ement, pneumatic pressure may beapplie to the duct,

' 30, and thence through a circumferential groove in the member, 31, to the duct, and hence, by Way of the circumferentialv groove, 33, and duct, 34, to the left-hand cylinder space. i It will be observed; that the shaft, 17, may be extended by means of extension rods, such as the extension rod, 35. As shown in Fig. 1, the whole device is mounted 'on the tube, 36, which may be in this instance a spindle of a lathe.

Having thus described my invention sothat those skilled in the art may practice the same, what desire to secure by Letters Patent is defined by what is claimed, it being understood that I have illustratedand described one embodiment of my invention herein in some detail only for purposes of illustration. I

What I claim as my-invention is:

1. The comlfination, withja piston providedwith an annular periphenal groove, the inner portion ofthe side walls of which diverge toward the'base, of, a resilient packing ring I t e recess in said plst-on, sald rmg 1nclud1ng a transverse,

seated within and enclosing Wall having sides depending therefrom adapted tdlie adjacent the diverging sides trapping compressed fluid within therecess in said piston.

2. The combination with a piston pro vided with an annular peripheral groove the inner portion of the side walls of which diverge toward the base, of a resilient packmg ring seated within and enclosing the recess in said piston, said ring including a transverse wall having sides depending therefrom adapted to lie adjacent the diverging' sides of the recess, packingmaterial encircling said ring, and means for directing fluid under pressure into the portion of the groove in said piston enclosed'by said packing ring, nd a resiliently operated closure member within the said groove for trapping fluid under pressure, within. the said recess. p

3. The combinationwith apiston provided with an annular inwardly i enlarged peripheral groove having a bottom wall and annular recesses therein, and means for l conducting fluid under pressure through the piston into the bottom wall of the groove between the said recesses, of [an endless resilient, annular member movably mounted in the said groove, and a. wear resisting packing member in the groove and encircling the said member, the said resilient member comprising atransverse wall extending across the groove and self sustaining inwardly diverging side walls normally seating in the said annular recesses and having fluid sealing contact with the recesses and s1de walls of the said groove for retaining fluid under pressure 1n the groove.

4. The combination with a piston provided with an annuliar, peripheral groove having recesses and having fluid sealing contact in the recesses and with the side walls of the said groove for retaining fluid under pressure in the roove.

5. A fiui pressure operated piston comprising/a disc like member having an interiorly enlarged annular groovev in the peripheral wall thereof," the groove being formed by a bottom wall and side walls diverging adjacent to the bottom wall, the

a nonzero bottomgwall having annular recesses adjacent the groove, an annular packing member in the said side alls, passages for conducting the groove seating on the resilient member fluid under pressure through the said disc like and aresiliently operated closure in each of member from either side through the bottom the said-passages for trapping fluid under 5 Wall of the groove, an annular, self sustai'npressure in the said groove.

ing resilient member freely movable in the In witness whereof, Ihavehereunto signed groove and having fluid sealing contact in my name this 31st day of J an., 1922. the said recesses and with the side Walls of JOHN A. OLSON. 

